ABSTRACT
The book concludes with an evaluation of the stages of the EEAS’s evolution. It discusses the value of institutional and bureaucratic theories in understanding the emergence of the new EU diplomatic service and highlights the specific insights gained from this perspective. It finds the organisational development largely in line with bureaucratic theory expectations, but that the approach underestimates the role and persistence of political actors and individuals, both in terms of preferences and time, in the formation of institutions.
